Entry Category
Single Entry – TV/Digital Video Advertising in a social marketing program
Name of Intervention/ Program
You Good, Man?
Background and Situation Analysis
Working-age men in high-stress, male-dominated industries face disproportionately high rates of mental health challenges while also experiencing cultural pressure to appear self-reliant and emotionally stoic. Although many public awareness campaigns encourage men to “open up” or “talk about their feelings,” these messages often fail to resonate with the audiences they intend to reach. To better understand this disconnect, formative research included 52 anonymous surveys, 11 in-depth interviews, and multiple rounds of concept testing with men working in construction, engineering, shipbuilding, and related industries. Participants consistently rejected early creative concepts centered on vulnerability and emotional disclosure, describing them as cliché, performative, and unlike the way men naturally communicate. Instead, they pointed to small, everyday interactions between friends and coworkers as the moments when genuine concern is most often expressed. That insight fundamentally changed the creative approach. Rather than producing another traditional mental health PSA, the campaign developed a cinematic video series built around one familiar question: “You good, man?” The videos were designed to demonstrate that meaningful conversations often begin with ordinary moments, allowing viewers to recognize themselves in the story rather than feel they were being instructed how to behave.
Priority Audiences(s)
The primary audience was working-age men in Rhode Island, particularly those employed in construction, engineering, shipbuilding, and other male-dominated industries where mental health stigma remains high. The videos were designed for men who may avoid traditional mental health messaging but regularly communicate with friends and coworkers through brief, informal interactions. By reflecting those existing communication patterns, the campaign sought to reach audiences who are often overlooked by conventional public health advertising.
Behavioral Objectives
The videos were designed to normalize one simple behavior: checking in with another man before a situation reaches a crisis. Rather than asking viewers to dramatically change how they communicate, the campaign encouraged them to recognize moments when a friend or coworker might be struggling and begin a conversation using familiar language. The videos also encouraged viewers to take that question seriously when they heard it themselves, creating space for more honest conversations between peers. Finally, each video directed viewers to a dedicated men’s mental health resource platform where they could access information, support services, and additional resources. The intended behavioral pathway was straightforward: notice a change, ask the question, listen without judgment, and connect with help when needed.
Description of Strategy/Intervention
Audience research made one conclusion clear: authenticity would determine whether the videos succeeded. Participants rejected polished public health messaging that relied on emotional speeches or explicit discussions of vulnerability. Instead, they described mental health conversations as beginning quietly, often through familiar questions exchanged during ordinary interactions. This insight became the creative foundation for the campaign. Rather than explaining why mental health matters, the videos allow viewers to observe it. Each film follows realistic workplace interactions where subtle behavioral changes gradually become noticeable. Dialogue remains intentionally minimal, allowing facial expressions, pauses, and ambient sound to carry much of the emotional weight. The visual style was equally intentional. Real workplace environments replaced staged clinical settings. Natural lighting, restrained performances, and understated pacing created a sense of realism that reflected participants’ lived experiences rather than traditional public service advertising. Research also informed the choice of medium. Sixty-six percent of participants preferred short-form video, while 64% reported connecting most strongly with personal stories. Only 12% considered statistics compelling. Those findings led the campaign to prioritize cinematic storytelling over informational messaging. The campaign’s title, “You Good, Man?”, appears only after viewers have experienced the interaction, transforming an everyday greeting into a meaningful invitation to check in. The videos conclude with a clear pathway to additional support through the campaign website. By allowing viewers to interpret familiar situations rather than explaining them outright, the creative respected the audience’s existing communication style while modeling a simple, repeatable behavior.
Implementation
The video series served as the centerpiece of a statewide mental health campaign running from June through October 2025. Multiple edits were produced to support distribution across streaming television, connected television, YouTube, Meta platforms, Google placements, and organic social media. Each version maintained the same cinematic style while adapting pacing and runtime to the viewing environment. Paid video introduced the campaign to broad audiences through premium streaming placements and digital platforms, while shorter versions reinforced the message through social media and online video. Because the campaign centered on authentic storytelling rather than narration or statistics, each placement preserved the emotional arc of the original films rather than reducing them to informational advertisements. Across every channel, the videos consistently ended with the same message and destination, creating a unified experience regardless of where audiences encountered the campaign. The result was a video-first campaign in which storytelling, rather than traditional public health messaging, carried the behavioral intervention.
Evaluation Methods and Results
Evaluation combined formative audience research, concept testing, and video performance metrics. Research findings directly shaped the final creative direction by replacing early concepts with the peer-to-peer storytelling approach used in the finished films. During campaign implementation, paid media generated more than 6.7 million impressions, while the campaign website received nearly 35,000 visits, 94% of which came from first-time users. Video performance demonstrated sustained audience engagement. The campaign achieved a 43% video retention rate, indicating that viewers remained engaged with the films despite their slower, story-driven pacing. Meta advertising achieved a 3.59% engagement rate, and the campaign’s $0.47 cost per click performed substantially better than the cited healthcare benchmark of $1.32. Beyond paid media, the videos generated earned coverage across television, newspapers, digital publications, business media, and podcasts, extending the campaign’s reach beyond purchased placements. Most importantly, the campaign demonstrated that emotionally restrained, audience-informed storytelling can connect with men who often disengage from traditional mental health advertising. By replacing scripted persuasion with authentic observation, the videos transformed a familiar everyday phrase into a powerful invitation to start a conversation.
Entry Number: 12